Symbol Analysis
Gardens are always important in Western literature, since according to the Judeo-Christian tradition everything began in one. We're talking about the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were tempted, sinned, and got kicked out of paradise forever. Gardens in poetry often have to do with temptation and sin, and the garden in "The Defence of Guenevere" is definitely no exception.
- Line 109: Morris uses hyperbole when Guenevere says that she was "half mad with beauty," since being pretty probably didn't literally drive her to the verge of insanity.
- Line 111: The wall around the garden can be read as a metaphor for the limits and social rules that Guenevere is supposed to follow as Arthur's wife and queen.
- Line 134: The kiss is described as two "mouths" that "wander [...] in one way." This is an example of synecdoche, which is when you use part of something to stand in for the whole thing. It's also an example of personification, since mouths don't actually "wander" – people do.